Upgrading the ‘23 V4R front end

[Spooky]

Interesting to note that another supplier has also recommended the 19 with GP4-MS (allowing for language issues, this one said more power for GP4-MS and if I went for the RR caliper then he’d recommend 17 for more modularity).

It’s interesting that I seem to be getting some consistent recommendations for the 19 with GP4-MS.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Master cylinder size will come down to personal preference, 17, 18 or 19 will work ok with either the MS or stylema. Two pro riders i worked with both had different preference one rider would not ride anything other than the 17 the other would swap between the two depending on the track, 19 for a track with minimal braking, 17 for heavier braking. If you swap to Z04 pads you will get a massive improvement on track. I have a set of bonamici handlebars on one of my V4 they come with a damper bracket, seem very good quality but make sure you get the set with the two mounting bolts not the single. Wrs have them for a good price. Evol technology in the us also make really nice bars i will try to find a picture.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

These are the billet CNC master cylinder, they are really good quality i just bought the 18x18 to try.

 

[Spooky]

Master cylinder size will come down to personal preference, 17, 18 or 19 will work ok with either the MS or stylema. Two pro riders i worked with both had different preference one rider would not ride anything other than the 17 the other would swap between the two depending on the track, 19 for a track with minimal braking, 17 for heavier braking. If you swap to Z04 pads you will get a massive improvement on track. I have a set of bonamici handlebars on one of my V4 they come with a damper bracket, seem very good quality but make sure you get the set with the two mounting bolts not the single. Wrs have them for a good price. Evol technology in the us also make really nice bars i will try to find a picture.

Interesting on the reasons for using 19 or 17. It supports the reasons given by one of the suppliers. I guess you could dial in more feel on the 19 with the Corsa Corta. I’m inclined to follow the recommendation but I don’t want to end up with a hard lever that lacks feel. One of the chaps I know uses the GP 19x18 with GP4-MS and reckons it has loads of feel. I guess that‘s the ‘18’ part that helps with this.

I’m in the EU and hadn’t heard of Evol Technology here.

I have Z04 pads ready to be fitted - I’ve not used them before.

 

[Spooky]

These are the billet CNC master cylinder, they are really good quality i just bought the 18x18 to try.

Better value than the GP version.

I guess it should be the same feel as a Corsa Corta set to 18?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Better value than the GP version.

I guess it should be the same feel as a Corsa Corta set to 18?

The billet one for 500 euro is really good value i think, i have used it alongside the gp one and hard to tell the difference, im not a fan of the corsa corta I've seen a few fail under really hard use. You will really notice the difference with the Z04 pads just make sure you bed them in, use gently for a lap or two then progressively increase for a few more laps, let them cool then all good.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Not the best picture but that's the evol bar

 

[Spooky]

Thanks @Bruce Wayne - lots to think about!

 

[Spooky]

I assume there’s no brake light activation if I go for the billet one?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I assume there’s no brake light activation if I go for the billet one?

Correct

 

[Spooky]

So if I went that route I would need to commit to making the bike track only. I bought it for the track, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world…

 

[Bruce Wayne]

So if I went that route I would need to commit to making the bike track only. I bought it for the track, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world…

Yeah it's a better track bike than a road bike, i guess if you want to put on road again just swap back to the original master cylinder? Could even fit a dry break at the master to make swapping easier.

 

[Spooky]

Yeah it's a better track bike than a road bike, i guess if you want to put on road again just swap back to the original master cylinder? Could even fit a dry break at the master to make swapping easier.

I run a 2006 SportClassic for road use - plenty of power and I’m an ultra-cautious rider on the road these days.

I’ll run the V4R in on the road but I did buy it for track. I was using my SP2 for track last year but only got out for four weekends. I’ve no real interest in using them on the road - you can’t really use the power, whereas with the SportClassic I can use all the gears and go full throttle far more often without really getting into trouble. It’s much more fun.

Once the V4R is run in I’ll take the lights off and just leave it for track.

I need to decide which way to go with the master cylinder. I am concerned that the 19 would lose feel and modulation… If I go with 19 then the billet 19x18 would be a reasonable choice as I cannot imagine I’d ever want to set a RCS version to 20. If I go for 17 then the adjustability might be useful.

I have seen a used but serviced GP 19x18 for 940 Euros. It doesn’t look in bad shape at all.

 

[Spooky]

There’s also a billet 19x16.

Interesting that the KTM RC 8C uses Stylema with a 19RCS.

 

[Spooky]

Well I’ll have to give up waiting for Melotti to respond. I sent my initial enquiry two weeks ago. One week ago I got an email saying sorry for the delay and their technical team will get back to me shortly. Despite two reminders I have still not had a response.

I can’t wait forever so I think I’ll have to go with Extreme Components clip-ons. I could just fit them under the OEM upper-triple - it only moves them down a couple of mm or so. Alternatively, I could put a black Melotti upper-triple.

I would have liked to have the setup that uses those marks on the upper-triple and bars to make it easy to get them set up equally on both sides but I guess I’ll have to get a guage and do it the normal way.

I’m going to try the billet 19x18 master cylinder. I realised that my brake upgrades I am doing for my SportClassic Monoposto will require a 19x18 master cylinder, so if it’s no good for the V4R then I’ll put it on the SportClassic and get a 17RCS for the V4R.

It’s a shame that Melotti seem unable to respond to my enquiry within two weeks but I think that’s long enough.

 

[bp_SFV4]

So if I went that route I would need to commit to making the bike track only. I bought it for the track, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world…

Just get a banjo bolt which also serves as a brake light switch. If you change the clutch master, you'll have to go that route as well.

 

[Spooky]

Just get a banjo bolt which also serves as a brake light switch. If you change the clutch master, you'll have to go that route as well.

I wasn’t planning on changing the clutch master - it’s not like I use it much.

I thought the banjo bolt pressure switches weren’t supposed to be all that sensitive from a few things that I read? Then again, my rear brake uses one (CNC Racing rearsets and they come with that type of pressure switch), so I guess it should work fine. Can you get ones that are just plug and play for my bike or does it require some electrickery knowledge?

 

[PanigalePilot]

Well I’ll have to give up waiting for Melotti to respond. I sent my initial enquiry two weeks ago. One week ago I got an email saying sorry for the delay and their technical team will get back to me shortly. Despite two reminders I have still not had a response.

I can’t wait forever so I think I’ll have to go with Extreme Components clip-ons. I could just fit them under the OEM upper-triple - it only moves them down a couple of mm or so. Alternatively, I could put a black Melotti upper-triple.

I would have liked to have the setup that uses those marks on the upper-triple and bars to make it easy to get them set up equally on both sides but I guess I’ll have to get a guage and do it the normal way.

I’m going to try the billet 19x18 master cylinder. I realised that my brake upgrades I am doing for my SportClassic Monoposto will require a 19x18 master cylinder, so if it’s no good for the V4R then I’ll put it on the SportClassic and get a 17RCS for the V4R.

It’s a shame that Melotti seem unable to respond to my enquiry within two weeks but I think that’s long enough.

You never know what may be happening in their world. Perhaps a communication issue or staffing issue such as a death in the family. You just never know. I have enquired with them once and got a prompt reply. I have always liked the look of their top clamp and it is a bonus to customise it and have some engraving done. Their website has a telephone number.

 

[Spooky]

You never know what may be happening in their world. Perhaps a communication issue or staffing issue such as a death in the family. You just never know. I have enquired with them once and got a prompt reply. I have always liked the look of their top clamp and it is a bonus to customise it and have some engraving done. Their website has a telephone number.

True. I do remember the days before email when you would pick up a telephone and speak to someone… crazy! We used to send letters to Clients and a couple of weeks or so later get a reply by letter… it’s a different world now.

Perhaps I will give it a try but I do think in any circumstances two weeks should be enough time to respond and I have sent multiple reminders. If someone is not able to respond to an email then I’m not sure they would be able to produce parts in a timely manner.

I bought fork sliders from them in the past - a good design and they responded much quicker at that time. I think they produce nice stuff.

I still like the look of their top clamp best, maybe in black.

 

[bp_SFV4]

I wasn’t planning on changing the clutch master - it’s not like I use it much.

I thought the banjo bolt pressure switches weren’t supposed to be all that sensitive from a few things that I read? Then again, my rear brake uses one (CNC Racing rearsets and they come with that type of pressure switch), so I guess it should work fine. Can you get ones that are just plug and play for my bike or does it require some electrickery knowledge?

The one I used temporarily on my clutch slave when trying to diagnose something seemed to activate with the slightest pressure. The only thing I needed to do to get it to work was to cut the plug from the factory one and cut and splice it to the pressure banjo bolt.